lots of cycling, but want to start lifting -- program rec's?

licorice_tea
licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
TL;DR -- I do a good deal of cycle commuting (23.5 miles every weekday round trip) that I'm not going to give up short of medical reasons, but I want to be an awesome lifting lady as well. Possible? Best beginning program for my situation? Advice for best results and injury avoidance?

About me: Female, 5'7", 140 pounds, pretty good cardio fitness levels, consume 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight, keep fats at 20%, the rest is carbs. Just putting that out there in case my macros need to change around.

I've been looking for a good starting weight lifting program, and there are a lot of great recommendations for beginner programs that I've been hoovering up on the forums. But once I start reading, a lot of them seem to be complete life-encompassing plans that specify little to no cardio.

Some specific questions are:

- Can I just grab one of these plans and start following it (Jamie Eason, NROLFW) even with all my cardio and still see benefits, or do I need to make some modifications? Is there a beginner plan that would work better than others, or is tailored to people whose main athletic activity is cardio?
- Would I be risking injury (specifically with cycling muscles) given that I can't take a break from cycling during the week? What could I do to minimize that risk? Definitely don't want to have to restrategize getting into work at the last minute!
- Finally, I feel I've seen a lot of comments about how marathon training destroys muscle. While I don't think I'm training as hard as all that, I've been worried someone would say "don't even bother lifting if you are doing that much cardio." Is there a fundamental incompatibility between doing this amount of cardio and building/maintaining muscle? How can I make the most of the benefits of both?

Thank you very much for any advice you have to offer!

EDIT: Just realized I put this in the wrong forum... should have gone in fitness and exercise. My bad! Not sure what to do about that now...

EDIT 2: To clarify, my cycling is functional (i.e. I don't have a car, public transporation is poorly networked to my workplace, cycling is by far and away the best way to get there). If it were purely for fitness or enjoyment, I could stagger my cycling with my lifting, but as is, I cycle from Monday to Friday and then break on weekends.

Replies

  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    New rules of lifting for woman...book on amazon
    Starting STrength...book on amazon
    Stronglifts 5x5 free online and you can find a summary here

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/4601-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    Lifting programs do not include cardio they are for lifting.

    If you wish to do cardio by all means have at...cardio is for heart and lung health and has it's benefits...Lifting is to maintain muscle and build strength and has it's benefits...it's never about which one is better it's about which one you prefer and your goals.

    I personally prefer SL 5x5 because it's free, easy to follow and doesn't get complicated...and it is not life encompassing...it's 3x a week that's it.

    I hear NROLFW gets complicated but can't commet on it as I haven't read the book, nor can I really comment on SS...
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
    Thanks Stef!

    I never would have thought there would be a conflict or "either or" between lifting and cardio, but both Jamie Eason and New Rules of Lifting for Women specifically say to stay away from the cardio, so that made me think there might be a conflict or some reason they said that.

    So I guess I just wanted to clarify whether it was "you must stay away from cardio" or "there's no need for much cardio" and I'm glad to hear it's the latter!

    Edit: Also by "life encompassing" I meant they specify meal plan, strength training, and cardio -- i.e. it gives a complete plan for your healthy lifestyle rather than just supplying the weight training program. I definitely don't find 3x a week to be burdensome!
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    I cycle commute 10 miles per day come rain or shine and strength train 3 x per week following stronglifts.

    Strength training has given me more power in my legs and has improved my cycling.

    Be sure to get adequate nutrition and protein. You will have a fairly large calorie requirement with that much cycling and lifting. (I'm 5'8 , 157lbs and my TDEE is around 2700).
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    most of those routines suggest no or little cardio, and any cardio you do to be on your off days, so that gives you 4 days/week if you choose to.
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
    most of those routines suggest no or little cardio, and any cardio you do to be on your off days, so that gives you 4 days/week if you choose to.

    It's commute cycling sadly, so that's every weekday -- 5 days back to back. I take a complete break on the weekends, but that isn't very helpful because of then lifting back to back.
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
    I cycle commute 10 miles per day come rain or shine and strength train 3 x per week following stronglifts.

    Strength training has given me more power in my legs and has improved my cycling.

    Be sure to get adequate nutrition and protein. You will have a fairly large calorie requirement with that much cycling and lifting. (I'm 5'8 , 157lbs and my TDEE is around 2700).

    Awesome! Was lifting before cycling the way to go (or maybe you never experimented with lifting after cycling?)

    My TDEE is currently 2300-2500 so that sounds about right!
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Most people will tell you that lots of cardio and trying to improve lifts are competing goals. However, that doesn't mean that they can't work together. I've continued heavy lifting while training for my half marathon. Am I making huge gains on my strength? Not really, but I haven't lost strength either. I'm still squatting about 200 lbs.

    I have found that to fuel this level of activity, my nutrition has become very important. I've had to really crack down on my macros, and make sure I'm getting adequate sleep. I'm eating 1950 right now, aiming for 1 lb/week, and I normally go over a few hundred the day after my long run.

    You'll also find planning your rest days will be important. You might not have the leg strength to cycle that far after squatting the day before. I know that I'm toast if I try to run more than 3 miles after leg day. It's just not there.

    Your best bet will be to make sure you're eating enough, and then just go for trial and error. It took me a few months to find a schedule that allowed for recovery, let me keep running, and still kept me in a deficit to lose weight.

    For programs, I started with NROLFW. If nothing else, read the book. I made it to stage 3 before getting bored and switching to Stronglifts, which I like a LOT better. I've now moved on to 5/3/1.

    ETA: I also try to never run on days I lift. I can't give my all to both every day. If I do have to run because I missed a workout for some reason, I only do a short run, and usually only on the day I'm doing upper body stuff.
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
    Most people will tell you that lots of cardio and trying to improve lifts are competing goals. However, that doesn't mean that they can't work together. I've continued heavy lifting while training for my half marathon. Am I making huge gains on my strength? Not really, but I haven't lost strength either. I'm still squatting about 200 lbs.

    I have found that to fuel this level of activity, my nutrition has become very important. I've had to really crack down on my macros, and make sure I'm getting adequate sleep. I'm eating 1950 right now, aiming for 1 lb/week, and I normally go over a few hundred the day after my long run.

    You'll also find planning your rest days will be important. You might not have the leg strength to cycle that far after squatting the day before. I know that I'm toast if I try to run more than 3 miles after leg day. It's just not there.

    Your best bet will be to make sure you're eating enough, and then just go for trial and error. It took me a few months to find a schedule that allowed for recovery, let me keep running, and still kept me in a deficit to lose weight.

    For programs, I started with NROLFW. If nothing else, read the book. I made it to stage 3 before getting bored and switching to Stronglifts, which I like a LOT better. I've now moved on to 5/3/1.

    ETA: I also try to never run on days I lift. I can't give my all to both every day. If I do have to run because I missed a workout for some reason, I only do a short run, and usually only on the day I'm doing upper body stuff.

    Thank you so much! This was super helpful.

    I didn't think about not being able to cycle after leg-intensive lifts.

    I wonder if I did lifting after my daily cycling, then maybe by the next day I'd be recovered enough to be able to use my legs again?

    I guess I will have to experiment!
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Most people will tell you that lots of cardio and trying to improve lifts are competing goals. However, that doesn't mean that they can't work together. I've continued heavy lifting while training for my half marathon. Am I making huge gains on my strength? Not really, but I haven't lost strength either. I'm still squatting about 200 lbs.

    I have found that to fuel this level of activity, my nutrition has become very important. I've had to really crack down on my macros, and make sure I'm getting adequate sleep. I'm eating 1950 right now, aiming for 1 lb/week, and I normally go over a few hundred the day after my long run.

    You'll also find planning your rest days will be important. You might not have the leg strength to cycle that far after squatting the day before. I know that I'm toast if I try to run more than 3 miles after leg day. It's just not there.

    Your best bet will be to make sure you're eating enough, and then just go for trial and error. It took me a few months to find a schedule that allowed for recovery, let me keep running, and still kept me in a deficit to lose weight.

    For programs, I started with NROLFW. If nothing else, read the book. I made it to stage 3 before getting bored and switching to Stronglifts, which I like a LOT better. I've now moved on to 5/3/1.

    ETA: I also try to never run on days I lift. I can't give my all to both every day. If I do have to run because I missed a workout for some reason, I only do a short run, and usually only on the day I'm doing upper body stuff.

    Thank you so much! This was super helpful.

    I didn't think about not being able to cycle after leg-intensive lifts.

    I wonder if I did lifting after my daily cycling, then maybe by the next day I'd be recovered enough to be able to use my legs again?

    I guess I will have to experiment!

    Definitely experiment. I know that if I run first and then try to lift, I can barely get the last set in. I never ever do that on my 5/3/1 day. It also depends on what you're already used to. When I first started lifting, my runs were still super short and doing even a mile was too much to do on the same days I lifted. Now I still feel good doing 2-3 miles...but no way in heck could I do a 10 miler and then lift!
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    With regards to timing, I actually now tend to lift after cycling home. The other option would be to lift first thing in the morning but I've found that working out fasted in the morning is more difficult than doing it after the ride home. The cycling warms me up nicely too.

    Obviously your distance is longer so you may find that morning lifting works better for you and your schedule.

    Cycling can be a bit more challenging the morning after a workout compared to after non-lifting days but not hugely so. I'd been cycling for years before I started lifting so my legs were well used to it, so you may find this is true for you too.
  • licorice_tea
    licorice_tea Posts: 59 Member
    With regards to timing, I actually now tend to lift after cycling home. The other option would be to lift first thing in the morning but I've found that working out fasted in the morning is more difficult than doing it after the ride home. The cycling warms me up nicely too.

    Obviously your distance is longer so you may find that morning lifting works better for you and your schedule.

    Cycling can be a bit more challenging the morning after a workout compared to after non-lifting days but not hugely so. I'd been cycling for years before I started lifting so my legs were well used to it, so you may find this is true for you too.

    Thanks so much Karen, this really helps! I think lifting after cycling works best for me as well. I've been cycling these kinds of distances more than a year now so I hope it holds true for me too!
  • asdelmonte
    asdelmonte Posts: 171 Member
    I would recommend something like Stronglifts 5x5. I was doing the New Rules for Women and the workouts were simply too time consuming. I switched a couple of weeks ago and love it. I lift M-W-F in the morning, run M-W in the afternoons (if it fits with the kids activities), cycle T-Th-Sat mornings and do a long run on Sundays. Once every few weeks I take either Saturday or Sunday off completely.

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